Pandemics often have animal origins, so prevention is often dominated by health and veterinary sciences. However, social sciences’ role in understanding human behaviour is also crucial to prevention.
On the fourth anniversary of New Zealand’s first COVID case it’s clear this is not a normal pandemic. Despite fatigue and indifference, New Zealand must heed the evidence and improve its response.
The cost overruns of the ArriveCan app are exceptional, but the scandal is not unique in history. There are solutions available to prevent the excessive use of public funds.
Since 2020 there has been exponential rise in ‘virus fiction’ by a new COVID generation of authors who came out of isolation having experienced a pandemic in real time.
During the pandemic, many people relied on social media for distraction and social connection. However, excessive social media use can negatively affect mental health, especially for young people.
COVID was a ‘gendered pandemic’, with women carrying very different burdens to men. A three-year New Zealand research project aimed to overcome the urge to forget, and provide lessons for the future.